Nearly every scientific and social issue confronting us today involves change: climate change, ecological change, cultural change. What forces drive these changes? What is the tempo and mode of these changes? Are these changes natural or the result of human tampering? Are they to be feared or welcomed? How do we - and all life on this planet - adapt to these changes? Come and explore the answers to these and other important questions with us.
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 - Test your ability to balance soil productivity, food production, and greenhouse gas emissions in this fun new soil game.
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 Ginkgo biloba, a hardy tree commonly found along city streets, is considered a “living fossil.” It is giving scientists important information about climate change.
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.jpg) How are soils connected to earth's global ecosystems? How are wetland soils threatened by climate change and pollution? Dr. Pat Megonigal explores these questions and more.
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 - September 2009. Australians were affected by the country's worst dust storm in seven decades. Learn about atmospheric transport >>
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 - July 26, 2009. The NOAA Climate Prediction Center reported that ocean temperatures in Pacific had shifted into El Niño conditions.
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An exhibit that explores Earth's Atmosphere - a thin envelope that surrounds us and makes Earth habitable for life.
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An online exhibit that explores changes in the Arctic, the Earth’s northernmost region, and how they are monitored by scientists and polar residents alike.
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We are building an exhibit about soil - a world under our feet and teeming with life! Open at the Natural History Museum through January 3, 2010.
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In The Weeping Goldsmith, join Natural History Museum Botanist, W. John Kress, on a nine year exploration to survey Myanmar’s teak forests, bamboo thickets, timber plantations, rivers and mangroves. Kress recounts his journey to document Myanmar's incredible botanical biodiversity. Home to some of the world’s most striking landscapes, Myanmar is enchantingly remote, nourishing thousands of exotic plant and animal species and a range of unique indigenous cultures.
Kress’ travels included study of several previously undocumented plant species including “the weeping goldsmith,” a ginger flower and the namesake of his book. Legend has it that the local goldsmiths were brought to tears by the blossom because their creations paled in comparison to its beauty.“The weeping goldsmith was one of the most beautiful flowers I found in Myanmar, yet it had never been scientifically described,” Kress says. The people and culture of Myanmar are highlighted in the book through Kress’ understanding of their country’s flora, natural habitats and human-dominated environments.
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